When does my electricity consumption impact the environment most?
It makes a difference to the environment when you use electricity. More CO2 is actually emitted at some times than others.
Variations in CO2 emissions
Every time you use 1 kWh of power, you produce on average ½ kg of CO2. But this is only an average because when you use electricity in the course of dayor year the level of CO2 emitted varies hour by hour.
There are 2 reasons for this:
- Danish weather patterns
When it’s windy, the proportion of electricity produced in Denmark by wind turbines is greater, which results in less CO2 emitted per kWh.
Fossil fuels release large amounts of CO2, so when there is no wind, coal-fired power stations have to supply most of the electricity. In this situation the CO2 content per kWh is much higher. - Amount of electricity consumed
When consumption is low, the output from wind power, cogeneration (CHP) and the most efficient power stations covers the demand for electricity. When consumption is high, it becomes necessary to bring the oldest and most polluting power stations on stream. This means that CO2 emissions per kWh rise.
You can reduce your carbon footprint by switching some of your electricity consumption to times when CO2 emissions are at their lowest – for example, by running the washing machine and dishwasher at night.
You can track the estimated CO2 emissions for the following day under ‘Electricity’ at My E-Home. Please note that data is currently only available for Jutland and Funen.
Page last updated 16.01.2010